How To Prevent Falls In The Home For Elderly – A Physical Therapist’s View

As a physical therapist, I treat many different types of injuries that occurred because my patient fell – and many of these patients are older adults who fell in their homes. The majority of these patients suffered a bone fracture of some type which often resulted in surgery followed by months of rehabilitation.

The unfortunate thing is that many of these accidents could have been prevented.

So, how do you prevent falls in the home if you are elderly? – The answer involves two very important issues. One is to modify the home so that it is as safe as possible. Two is to improve your physical strength and flexibility for better balance and mobility.

Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. – ncoaa.org

In this same article by the National Council on Aging – they report that according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – “Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.”

How Can We Prevent Falls As We Age?

As a physical therapist, my role in fall prevention is to improve my patient’s overall endurance, strength and balance. This involves a series of assessments which lay the groundwork for the treatment plan.

It all boils down to creating a treatment plan that my patient can follow and build on.

The end result is, of course, to improve their strength and balance to help avoid any future incidences of falling.

But – as I said earlier, there’s more to fall prevention than just building up the body’s core strength and balance. There’s also the issue of modifications not only in the home environment but in some personal choices as well.

Avoiding doing multiple tasks such as carrying groceries while speaking on the phone and trying to close the car door.

Focus on the activity on hand. For example, while walking down the staircase, focus on the steps you are taking vs. looking away or being distracted by talking on the phone or to someone.

Know your limitations, especially if you are on certain medications that can make you dizzy or cause you to lose your balance.

These are some of the most common types of changes that my patients could have benefited from – changes that could have helped to prevent their fall in the first place.

But overall, as a physical therapist – my main goal is to help my patients to improve their physical well-being. This means to improve their overall strength, balance and mobility.

Where Do Most Falls Occur In The Elderly?

It stands to reason that for elderly adults, most falls occur indoors – inside their homes. You can probably guess that the reason for this is because most older adults stay in their homes and do not venture out as much as their younger counterparts.

…fall-related mortality rates increase exponentially with age, with the greatest increase after age 80. This is because most falls are associated with age-related conditions such as physical frailty, immobility and reduced functional capacity.- World Health Organization

Where Do Most Falls Occur In The Home?

What has been shown to be the most dangerous room in the house for an elderly person?

If you guessed the bathroom – you would be absolutely right!

In 2008, nearly 22 million Americans age 15 and older were injured in the bathroom, with nearly 235,000 treated in emergency rooms….Unfortunately, the bathroom was especially treacherous for Americans age 65 and older — they had the highest injury rate….Falls were the cause of 80 percent of all bathroom accidents, causing serious injuries like hip fractures. Older Americans had the highest fracture rates and were hospitalized most often. – aarp.org

These numbers are from 2008 – which means that more than likely today’s numbers (in 2020) are much higher! I say that because since 2000, the number of people who have turned 65 has nearly doubled (so as of this writing, that’s 20 years of these numbers exponentially growing!).

With the majority of falls occurring in the bathroom – I would encourage you to make the modifications needed to your bathroom to make it as safe as possible for yourself and/or your senior loved one.

Find something stable to hold onto – preferably something that is heavy (you do not want to use a lightweight chair). This is something that you can place your hand on while standing upright.

While holding onto this stable object – lift one foot off the floor – it can be just a few inches off the floor.

Hold this position for 30 seconds.

Then repeat this process with the other foot.

You can increase the challenge by increasing the amount of time to 1 minute.

You can also increase the challenge by performing the exercise with your eyes closed.

You can also increase the challenge by performing the exercise while NOT holding on to something BUT I strongly caution that you should NOT do this without the supervision of another person there to guard you.

3. Walking While Moving Your Head

Begin this exercise by laying down. Then turn your head to the left and then to the right. If this does not cause any dizziness or a lightheaded feeling, then go on to the next step.

Sit up in a chair with back and side supports. Then again, turn your head to the left and then to the right. If this does not cause any dizziness or a lightheaded feeling, then go on to the next step.

Stand upright and hold onto a sturdy object. Then again, turn your head to the left and then to the right. If this does not cause any dizziness or a lightheaded feeling, then go on to the next step.

You will now be performing this same exercise (turning your head left and right) but this time you will be walking. I recommend that you do this exercise in a location where you will have support on both sides. Using the parallel bars in a physical therapy clinic is the idea location to do this. But you can also ask others to closely supervise you as you perform this exercise just in case you do get dizzy and lose your balance. (This means that they are standing close enough to you to grab you if you do begin to fall.)

4. Testing Your Visual Perceptual System

You will need a bed sheet or some other material that has a busy and multi colored design. Hang this sheet on a wall.

You will position yourself about 30 or 40 steps away from this hanging sheet (or as far as you can get).

You will then focus your gaze on that sheet and begin walking towards it.

Then repeat this but this time, walk backwards, again keeping your gaze on that sheet.

CAUTION: Never perform this exercise alone. Visual perceptual problems are extremely common in many older adults and can cause problems with balance.

5. Walking A Straight Line

In this exercise you will be walking a straight line (heel to toe).

You begin by standing upright, holding on to a sturdy object (like the parallel bars).

Take 10 steps, placing one foot in front of the other, walking heel to toe.

Repeat this same exercise but this time, walking backwards.

You can eventually make this exercise more challenging by performing it without holding on to a sturdy object.

Again, with all these exercises, I do recommend that you first perform them with a physical therapist to help you identify what issues you may be having and how to best work on overcoming them. I want you to use precaution and to be safe, at all times.

Conclusion

My goal, as a physical therapist is to help my elderly patients to recover from their injuries due to falls but more importantly, to help them to prevent falling again in the future. Honestly, I would prefer to be able to help them before they fall but most people do not come to see a physical therapist until something has happened.

If you feel that you are having any issues with your balance (or you see that your senior loved ones are having some problems) consider going to see a physical therapist before you or someone falls and injures themselves.

About the Author: John Bove, PT

John received his Bachelor’s in health sciences and Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from Quinnipiac University and has been practicing for 16 years.

John is an APTA member and has taken extensive training in joint mobilization, craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage, and visceral manipulation. His specific areas of concentration are TMJ dysfunction and knee rehabilitation. John is a teaching assistant for the Upledger Institute for craniosacral therapy.

He has been a certified yoga instructor for five years and is also a reiki master. He played Division 1 soccer for four years and currently holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. John’s athletic background gives him a unique knowledge of training, conditioning and rehabilitation.

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Robin and Esther are the duo behind SeniorSafetyAdvice.com! We both have years of experience in senior care – Esther as an Occupational Therapist and Robin as a Dental Hygienist and we have both cared for our elderly parents. In addition, we are both Certified Senior Home Safety Specialist’s through Age Safe America.

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